Call of the Valkyrie
by nomibubs
Summary: Set several months after the events of 'Shell Shocked' this original RTTE adventure will bring the Dragon Riders face to face with a terrifying enemy much closer to home.
1. Yak Stew & Mutton-heads

An original RTTE adventure.

Following the eruption of the Edge island's volcano the Dragon Riders have been working tirelessly to save the island inhabitants and their home.

They've managed to crudely control the lava flow, gradually directing it along a new path out into the ocean. But several months on and the results of the necessary terraforming that spelled their success still requires constant monitoring as multiple fractures continue to breach the mountainside.

With the 'long night' period drawing in, Hiccup and Fishlegs are routinely checking over the stability of one of the most recently located fissures, but when they are late to return to the Edge, Astrid sets out to find them. What they uncover in the depths of their own island brings the Riders face to face with a terrifying enemy much closer to home.

* * *

 **Call of the Valkyrie**

 _Chapter 1: Yak Stew & Mutton Heads_

"Oh, man, I haven't been this hungry since – " On seeing that it was Astrid cooking Snotlout clamped a hand over his mouth and tried to discreetly back out of the clubhouse.

"Snotlout," Astrid snapped, not looking up from what she was stirring. "If you don't come and eat now I swear to the Gods…"

She sighed, ever exasperated with the continual assumption she was a hopeless cook. "My cooking has never and will never kill you, but me?" She glanced at him her eyes sharp despite the casual smile. "How about I force feed you this ladle instead?" she asked, brandishing it menacingly.

Snotlout lifted his palms and chuckled nervously, "Easy 'Strid," he said, edging forward to look at the food on offer. "What is it?" he asked, clearly hoping the need to clarify didn't earn him a spoon in the gob.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "It's yak stew. One of Heather's recipes."

Snotlout nodded, trying not to seem too placated by the knowledge that Heather's superior culinary skills were behind the idea of the dish at the very least. He made to say something else, but before he could stick his foot in it Astrid handed him his serving and shoved a fresh bread roll in his mouth.

"- nks!" he acknowledged round the mouth full, taking a seat.

"Have you seen Hiccup and Fishlegs?" Astrid asked after a moment, she was looking out at the rapidly setting sun. It was the last they'd see of it for the next ten days as they headed into the 'long night'. "They should've been back by now."

Snotlout shrugged. "Probably bromancing? Either that or they knew you were cooking tonight…" he laughed at his own joke, promptly choking on a spoonful of stew when Astrid shot him another hard glance.

She stood and walked to the door, looking toward the continually smouldering volcano, anxiety eating at her though she knew she shouldn't let it. They'd covered this hadn't they? Still…

"They should have been back now," she repeated, more to herself this time.

"Astrid, they'll be fine," Snotlout assured, in a rare gesture of comfort, sarcasm aside. "They probably lost track of time discussing – I don't know - the intricacies of rock melting points or something _equally_ exciting."

"Maybe, but I'm going to check on them anyways." She cupped her hand to her mouth and let out her throaty version of the nadder's click-shriek.

It was Snotlout's turn to roll his eyes at that, muttering something about the stubbornness of women under his breath.

Astrid ignored him as moments later Stormfly appeared, landing with a flurry of wings and whip of her tail.

"Hey, girl," Astrid crooned affectionately, cuddling Stormfly's horned face. "Want to help me roast some mutton-heads?"

The beautiful nadder squawked her approval: _always._

"That's my girl," Astrid praised, swinging herself up onto Stormfly's back. She glanced at Snotlout, catching him in the process of ladling himself another serving of yak stew. "I'll be back in a bit, so don't eat all that! The guys will want something to eat after I've kicked their respective butts."

Snotlout waved her off, unmoved, but after watching the nadder take to the air, he leaned back to check Astrid really was gone before helping himself to another bread roll.

* * *

The volcano simmered angrily as Astrid and Stormfly circled the summit, looking for any sign of the missing riders. On the second-time round Stormfly squawked, drawing Astrid's attention to the two dragons resting on an outcrop of rock fronting a small fissure.

"I see them, Stormfly," she said, patting the dragon's flank.

On landing, Toothless and Meatlug instantly bounded over to greet them, neither showing any signs of distress over their missing rider's whereabouts, though evidently bored. Offering both dragons a gentle scratch, Astrid leaned into Toothless.

"They go in there?" she asked, cocking her head in the direction of the small crack in the mountainside, not big enough for a dragon to squeeze through and follow.

Toothless crooned in acknowledgment.

" _Course_ they did!" she growled, marching over to the opening to call out into the darkness. "Hiccup! Fishlegs!"

No answer.

Toothless crooned again, a definite note of concern resonating through at the lack of response.

"Don't worry," she said, smoothing her hand alongside his snout and neck and reaching for Hiccup's saddle bag. "I'll find them and give _him_ a smack from both of us." She pulled out one of Hiccup's emergency torches and held it up expectantly.

Toothless snorted a promise to reprimand his rider himself regardless, but with a quick puff of plasma he ignited the end of the torch. Astrid smiled, gesturing a silent command for him to keep an eye on the other dragons before she slipped into the crevice in search of Hiccup and Fishlegs.

If the opening had seemed small from the outside it was nothing to the space she was left with now, pot-holing her way through certain sections, silently marvelling at the idea of Fishlegs - thick bodied as he was - being able to navigate the limited space.

Once she could no longer see the dim light of the entrance behind her she called out again, "Hiccup! Fishlegs!"

It took a second or too, but then Hiccup's voice rang out from somewhere below.

"Astrid?"

"Hiccup! Where are you guys?"

"Down here!" he called back, not realising how vague a response that was given her current position.

"Wherever down here is," she grumbled to herself, shuffling further forward till the space suddenly opened up. She'd emerged on to a narrow ledge, high on one side of a vast cavern that was spontaneously lit by pooling lava, seeping from a thousand cracks in the walls. She shimmied to the edge and looked down, spying both Hiccup and Fishlegs at the centre of the space studying the geology. With a disparaged grunt, she eased herself over the side of the ledge and began a careful descent down to them, listening as their voices carried back to her.

"Fascinating idea," said Fishlegs, "it's worth experimenting with."

Hiccup picked up a couple of the rocks at his feet, looking at them thoughtfully. "Yeah, I was thinking limestone or maybe even marble would work best due to the possible air pockets that form in basalt and obsidian."

"Pressurising those could be interesting. Shame though, given its abundancy." Fishlegs absently gestured to the surrounding space.

"I'd sooner keep both my hands."

"Do you think they could stand the temperature?"

"Well, it's only Meatlug and Stormfly's magnesium fire that could possibly reach the temperature necessary to actually melt rock."

"Hmm, and Meatlug would have to ingest the rocks to do that which is kind of devoid of the point."

"And I'm not sure Stormfly could sustain a full burn for that long. Toothless's plasma might work though. A short, powerful burst."

Astrid finally made it to ground level and stalked toward the pair. "Oh my Gods, are you _serious_? Snotlout was right you guys really are discussing the melting points of rocks!"

"Well, not the melting points per say," Hiccup replied, shrugging his shoulders; looking remarkably sheepish under her stern gaze. In turn, she shot a glare at Fishlegs who noticeably winced.

"Hey, Astrid," he muttered, weakly, offering her a little wave.

Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair before daring to look at her again unable to contain his excitement over whatever potential new project he and Fishlegs were dreaming up. His mouth lifted into that roguish half smile that he knew Astrid normally couldn't resist. Her eyes narrowed further.

"Just, hear me out," he said, gesturing animatedly as he began to explain, showing her the examples of rock he'd found. "What if we could find a material 'or rock' to store energy, say dragon plasma, and then release it when-"

Astrid lifted her hand and pressed her forefinger to his mouth. "Save it! When did you two finish your recon? You were both due back at the Edge ages ago and I was getting…" she huffed indignantly, planting her free hand firmly on her hip, "I was getting worried. Plus, I made dinner."

Hiccup and Fishlegs exchanged a wary glance at that titbit which Astrid didn't miss.

"Oh, for the love of… it's yak stew, _okay_? One of Heather's recipes!"

The air about them was split with a deafening rumble that shook the earth beneath their feet.

"What was that?" Astrid muttered, eyes darting about the space as the tremors ceased.

What answered was an immense keening scrape of stone on stone. Suddenly Hiccup grabbed her causing her to drop the torch she'd been carrying and pulled her to the cavern side shielding her from the debris that began falling from the ceiling.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup shouted over the din, holding his shield above his and Astrid's heads. "When were the last tremors?"

"It's been months! We're still documenting all the damage caused by the last one!" Fishlegs shouted back. He'd mirrored their position, his eyes wide as larger chunks of rock thundered down around them. "Oh, Thor!" he exclaimed, terrified, covering his head with his meaty arms.

An age passed as the ceiling continued to collapse, blotting out all the light generated from the lava pools and Astrid's torch was snuffed out in the settling dust.

Finally, silence fell, the world stilled, and they found themselves miraculously alive.

"You alright?" Hiccup asked, breathing heavily. His voice was strained but gentle given how close to her he remained. Astrid couldn't see him. Gods, she couldn't see anything. Her hands grasped at the darkness to find him, panic stricken thinking somehow her sight had failed her again.

"I can't see," she said, her voice breaking.

"Me neither," said Hiccup, meaning to assuage her, but he sounded to be struggling.

"Are _you_ alright?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine but, Astrid, you need to…. I can't reach my sword."

Suddenly she realised Hiccup couldn't pull away because of how fast she clung to him, so hard her fingers ached in fact.

"Sorry," she muttered, letting him go and fighting back the dread that surged through her at no longer having him in reach. The discomfort was short lived.

"It's alright," he said, his voice steadier as inferno blazed to life. He held the sword aloft shedding light on their immediate surroundings. "Though maybe 'alright' is too stronger word," he added, his eyes scanning over the dire extent of the collapse.

The cavern space was a sea of piled rock, some heaped nearly to the height of where the ceiling had been originally. The way that Astrid had entered the cavern was now completely buried.

Forcing herself to move before fear fixed her in place, Astrid spied her torch and retrieved it knowing that Hiccup's sword had a limited supply of monstrous nightmare gel. She beat the rock dust from it and Hiccup set it burning once again.

"We need to find Fishlegs," he said, retracting his sword and slinging his shield on to his back again. "Come on."

Hiccup led them toward where he believed Fishlegs had been only to find a gaping hole in the cavern floor that dropped down into further darkness.

"Fishlegs?" he called down, too nervous to shout at first in case the sound set the stone to crumbling again.

"Hiccup," gasped Astrid, grabbing his shoulder for stability as she held her torch out over the expanse. "I think I see him. There," she pointed.

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup called again, watching the small mound - of what could have simply been more rock at this distance - shift in the low light. A pained groan followed the movement.

"Fishlegs?" Astrid called this time, her voice rising in concern.

"I'm okay!" Fishlegs moaned, the sound at odds with the sentiment of his words, but even as he spoke he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He held his head as he looked up at them. "Thor, how did we live through that?"

"That'll be a discussion best had after we find a way out," Hiccup replied.

"I take it that means no way out up there?"

"Yeah, you could say that," said Hiccup, glancing back over his shoulder at the surrounding rubble. "Though we certainly have an array of rocks to try no – "

" _Seriously!_ " Astrid hissed, punching Hiccup's arm.

"- Ooow!" he groused, extending the syllable to emphasise his irritation at being hit. He gave his arm a rub.

"Every cloud and that, Astrid," Fishlegs offered up, insightfully.

" _Gods,_ " she cursed under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose for a second. "Well, before either of you suggest taking samples, can you at least make anything out down there, Fishlegs? A way out perhaps?" she asked.

Fishlegs shuffled to his feet, stretched his back and stared into the surrounding black. "It's too dark, I can't see anything."

"Have you got your spare torches down there with you?" Hiccup asked.

Fishlegs checked over the immediate area and found his bag. "Yeah," he answered, reaching inside to extract one.

"Here, then." Hiccup unhooked inferno from his leg, removing the zippleback gas canister from the hilt before dropping the blade down the hole into Fishlegs waiting hand.

With a quick offer of thanks Fishlegs went about igniting his own torch to look around, whilst Hiccup set about finding a means of securing a sturdy masonry pin into the rock wall. Where exactly he'd procured the pin from was beyond Astrid, but she'd learned long ago that he carried around the most random assortment of things tucked away in the hidden pockets of his leathers.

"What are you doing?" she asked, watching him make rapid adjustments to the canister.

"Well, either Fishlegs is going to have to come up or we're going to have to go down. Either way we're going to need to secure the rope from my shield to something, the grapple wasn't designed for rock."

"So, what are you doing with the canister of explosive gas again?"

"Making a hammer," he said, not looking up from the task.

"A hammer?"

"Yeah," he said, glancing up, smiling at her incredulity, "a gas-powered hammer."

He whacked the masonry pin, head end, into the canister and jammed the sharp end into the beginnings of hole already in the rock face.

"A gas-powered –"

He cut her off with a quick peck on the cheek, prising the torch from her grasp.

"Trust me," he said, and held the flame to the canister, throwing it aside the instant the contraption started smoking. He threw himself over Astrid and covered his ears, again shielding her bodily from whatever on Midgard was about to happen next. She followed his example and protected her ears, squeezing her eyes tight shut too for good measure.

It wasn't the loudest of explosions, the canister somehow containing most of the blast in a single resounding 'pop'. It could have been quite disappointing had it not been propelled by said, 'pop', two thirds of the way across what remained of the cavern to shatter against some distant crag.

The pin though, remained securely embedded in the rock face.

Hiccup moved to sit beside her trying not to look remarkably smug, but failed miserably.

"No one likes a sprätta," Astrid chided, unable to hide a smile of her own as she nudged him.

"You guys alright?" Fishlegs called up.

"Yep," she answered, looking over the edge.

"Thank Thor, I thought the tremors were starting again."

"No, it was just Hiccup being," she looked up at him, "well…"

"A ' _smart-ass_ '?" Hiccup offered with a smirk, he'd pulled his shield round and was starting to unwind the grapple line.

Astrid shrugged, "I'm not complaining really." She looked back down at Fishlegs. "Find anything?" she asked.

"A decent air current…"

"That's something at least," she said, but the way Fishlegs paused made Astrid realise there was more. "And?"

"You guys had better come see this."

Astrid and Hiccup exchanged a glance at that.

"We'll be down in a minute," Hiccup assured, and began lowering the line.


	2. Climbs, Bones and Dark Places

**Call of the Valkyrie**

 _Chapter 2: Climbs, Bones and Dark Places_

"Over here," said Fishlegs, beckoning Hiccup and Astrid through the cave. "I was following the air current, see it catching?" He lifted the torch to demonstrate the flames being inextricably pulled. "That's when I found… _this_."

He lifted his torch higher, the light flickering over an immense slab, the sheer impact of its fall from somewhere above them enough to have cleaved it in two. This wasn't what Fishlegs was referring to in awe though. As he moved the torch closer, engraved runic symbols were thrown into sharp relief.

"Just look at these," he gushed, his hand running over the surface of the runestone clearing away centuries of accumulated dust.

"Woah, Fishlegs, this… this is really something!" said Hiccup, genuinely impressed. "It looks like a form of Norse, but nothing I'm familiar with."

"I know, right? Even the Dragon Eye didn't date back this far. It's ancient, perhaps one of the earliest dialects."

"Can you read any of it?" Astrid asked, looking at it over Hiccup's shoulder.

"I don't know, maybe. I need time to study it."

"That's not really a luxury we have right now, Fishlegs," she said, sternly, pulling away.

"But, just look at it! The detail, the craftsmanship." Fishlegs turned to Hiccup for support. "Someone spent a long time on this!"

"I know, I know," Hiccup agreed, placing a consoling hand on Fishlegs' shoulder. "This is a huge find, but Astrid's right, it can't be a priority right now. We still need to focus on finding a way out."

Fishlegs eyes widened. "But the tremors. What if this damage was caused by them? Another might completely bury it."

"Or us," insisted Astrid, sharing a concerned glance with Hiccup.

Fishlegs heaved a long sigh, resigned.

"I'm sorry, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, firmly this time.

"No, you're right." Fishlegs straightened up again. "So, what now?"

"We keep following the air current," replied Astrid, looking up to where the slab had fallen from. The flames of her torch licked higher. "With fine stone carving comes man, and man needs a way in. Up there's our best bet."

On seeing Fishlegs' crest fallen expression, his eyes still rivetted to the fallen slab and the knowledge he would likely never have chance to glean, Astrid sighed, frustrated - with her own weakness as much as anything else.

"Fishlegs," she said, drawing his attention, "you have however long it takes me to get up there," she gestured sharply up the rock face. "So, make notes, take rubbings, whatever you need to do. Just do it now and do it fast."

"Okay," he nodded, unable to contain his excitement as he set to work, pulling out an assortment of loose paper and a heelball.

Hiccup gave her a grateful look, before moving to follow her. She put her hand to his chest and stopped him. "You might as well stay and help him. Get it done quicker," she said.

"Um, what about you though?"

Astrid raised her eyebrow. "I'm not going far, Hiccup."

"I know that, but…" he looked up at the gap she would be making for, his brows drawing together in concern.

"And besides," she said, getting a good hold on the rock face, "if you're following me up who's going to catch me if I fall?" she smiled.

"Good point. Though, you know, don't!" he urged.

"I'll try," she said, reaching up to place her torch on a small ridge and free up both her hands for a second. "After all, we wouldn't want you to buckle a leg or anything," she teased.

Hiccup smiled, playing along as he watched her go. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good given both my spares are safely tucked in my saddle bag, on a night fury, outside."

Astrid laughed, hauling herself up a bit further, then as she stretched back to retrieve the torch and reposition it, she caught his eye. "Who said I was talking about your peg leg?" she asked, playfully.

"Now that just hurts," he said, mock scowling.

She grinned with a shrug, concentrating back on her climb. "Well, I can't deny having seen thicker legs hanging out the bottom of nests," she said.

"Which _nests_ are we talking about exactly?" Hiccup asked, before thinking better of it. "Wait, wait, yeah, I don't want to know the answer to that do I!"

Their eyes met again, Astrid was giggling at first ready to continue the banter, but the laughter melted away the longer she held Hiccup's gaze, softening her expression into one of genuine warmth. In the end, they simply smiled at one another.

"Now," she said, taking a steadying breath and moving back to the task at hand. She brushed her boot over the stone, deliberately showering him with lose debris, "as much as you're enjoying the view, stop distracting me and go help Fishlegs."

"Milady," he offered up in parting, bowing with feint formality

"Smooth," Fishlegs quipped with a grin as Hiccup knelt beside him, shaking the dust from his hair.

It took several minutes for Astrid to navigate the climb, pausing every now and then to shift the torch to a higher vantage point. Difficult as it was, she knew she'd need it on reaching the top. Finally, she lifted it on to the top ledge but the instant she let go it started to roll. Her fingers clawed after it but to no avail. It dropped over the far side of the ledge into whatever lay beyond.

Cursing venomously, she hauled herself onto the top ledge and stared out into nothing, willing her eyes to adjust and take in what meagre information they could from the faint light of her torch - still somehow glowing - somewhere now far below.

She could sense the space was cavernous, the weight of rock didn't bear down on her but instead lifted to an unseen height. She raked her eyes through the gloom, following the rock face to where it met the side of the ledge where she was perched. Her fingers traced over fine, darker shadow's marking the stone's surface.

"More runes," Astrid realised, muttering to herself, and with the realisation came clarity of vision. Now she knew what she was looking for she could see them, hundreds of enormous rune stones lining the walls and that was just in the limited area she could make out.

"Um, guys?" she called down to Hiccup and Fishlegs.

"Astrid? You okay?" they asked in unison.

"Something tells me you're going to need more paper," she replied.

* * *

"Stay close," Hiccup said, handing Astrid back her re-wrapped torch. The freshly fed flames licked at the air as she lifted it, seeking the catch of a draft again.

The space they found themselves in was indeed vast as she'd initially suspected. It was no cave marked randomly with runestones though, but a fully structured, circular interior, temple like in appearance and doming to a great height. Roughhewn pillars and round arches lined the walls between further runic carvings, depictions of ancient scenes and corridors leading to unseen ends.

"Oh my Thor, oh my Thor, oh my Thor…." Fishlegs continued to mutter to himself as he gazed at everything all at once. It was a personal mantra he'd been stuck repeating since safely making it down from the breach.

"I think Fishlegs is broken," Astrid remarked in an aside to Hiccup. They were stood eyeing the many corridors wondering which to try first.

"Take your pick," Hiccup said, with a sweeping gesture.

Astrid pointed to the nearest one and marched forward, holding the torch into the shadows, watching to see the flames response – nothing.

She looked back a Hiccup and shook her head.

He moved on to check the next.

Again – nothing.

The following six showed no sign of air movement. The seventh however, the flames finally caught and were dragged.

Atsrid and Hiccup looked at one another, faint relief evident in both their faces as they came to a silent agreement - _this_ was the way they'd try.

"Guys, you've got to see this!" Fishlegs declared, suddenly.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked, instantly drawn over.

Astrid rolled her eyes as she watched him go, wondering how long he'd been holding back his own insatiable curiosity? With a fond, if strained smile, she decided to scout further ahead and leave them to it again for the time being.

* * *

"Look at these," said Fishlegs. "What does that look like to you?"

Hiccup looked over the scene Fishlegs had brought him to. It was a battle, a Viking-like people on one side and something distinctly familiar and yet not on the other. It bore no resemblance to any species they had encountered before.

"A dragon," Hiccup answered, his fingers grazing over the image of it thoughtfully.

"Exactly," muttered Fishlegs in awe.

* * *

The corridor stretched on and soon Hiccup's and Fishlegs' voices became distant and indiscernible. The torch continued to flicker fitfully till suddenly, a further tunnel opened branching off on Astrid's right. She held the torch toward it testing the air current unsurprised when the drag still pulled her ahead, this new corridor was a dead end, she could see as much from where she stood, but just as she made to carry on the light caught against… _something_.

* * *

"Looks like we were at war far longer than any of us truly realised," said Hiccup.

"These figures here almost look like Valkyries," Fishelgs noted, following the scene along. "Are they wearing the dragon skins as armour?"

"Strange depictions, but, yeah, you're right. Perhaps offerings of some sort? Back in a time where we were even more tasteless than normal. Still doesn't help explain what this place is though. Whoa, whoa," Hiccup grabbed Fishlegs arm and pulled him to a stop before he could move to stand unknowingly on a pile of bones.

Fishlegs drew back with mild horror when he realised what was at his feet. His torchlight highlighting a very human skull.

"These aren't animal bones, Hiccup," he said nervously.

"No, they aren't," Hiccup agreed, reaching down to gently sift through the dirt surrounding the remains and extract the small polished stone that had caught his eye. He turned it over in his fingers, before showing it to Fishlegs. It was a charm from a necklace long since perished, a distinctive protection rune carved delicately into the surface.

"For all the good it did," said Fishlegs, sombrely. They both looked back down at the pile of bones.

A few seconds passed and Hiccup glanced up, "Where's Astrid?"

* * *

Astrid approached cautiously, reaching out to brush her fingers over the strange angular protrusions jutting from the wall that had caught her attention. Slowly she uncovered the unmistakable blik of a helm. It was shaped like the skull of a dragon, though not. It wasn't bone she was uncovering but dark scales, skin, closed eyes. Her actions became bolder as her curiosity was piqued further, this wasn't representative of any dragon she recognised.

She gasped backing away as a great lump of dirt fell to reveal the smooth grey mouth and chin of the helm's wearer. Having been entombed in the wall for an eternity the body appeared well preserved.

Astrid turned to call out to Hiccup and Fishlegs and in the same instant her peripheral was filled with sudden movement. She wasn't fast enough to react as a section of the wall exploded outward and a long sinuous tail coiled tightly round her neck silencing any call she'd been about to make.

Her fingers grasped and raked against it, desperate for air, feet kicking wildly as she was lifted off the floor. Slowly she was pulled closer to the half-buried body, desperately reaching for the dagger she kept in her boot. The dragon head she had thought a helm shifted, tilting at an odd angle as if contemplating.

" _Hicc -!_ "

The dragon's eyes snapped open in a flash of blue and Astrid felt a sharp bite of pain in the side of neck, then nothing.

She was left alone, stood, wondering where she was and why she was there. She'd been about to call for Hiccup hadn't she, why was that? In the end it didn't matter, she heard him calling her.

"I'm here!" she responded, reaching down to retrieve her torch, not remembering having put it down or dropping it – or why her neck was feeling slightly sore as she did so.

She emerged into the corridor ahead of them, looking around in an attempt to get her bearings again.

"Hey?" Hiccup asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, it made her jump. "What happened to 'stay close'?" There was a note of fear lingering behind the evident frustration he felt at her seemingly having ignored his request - again.

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I… yeah, I'm fine. Just want to get out of here." She'd wanted to say, 'I don't know' again, but still couldn't understand why she was feeling so disoriented suddenly.

"This place _has_ officially reached ' _pretty creepy_ ' on Snotlout's official scale of _'places that creep me out'_ ," agreed Fishlegs.

"And you wanted time to study runes," Astrid jeered, smacking his arm with the back of her hand.

"That was before I nearly stepped on a pile of bones."

"Bones?" she asked.

"Human bones to be exact!"

"Something bad happened here but whether by design or accident is a mystery best left for another day," said Hiccup.

"At least some of that mystery might be uncovered back at the safety of the Edge," said Fishlegs, lightly tapping his bag and it's bulging contents.

"Speaking of which, any idea which way we should go?" Hiccup asked, turning to Astrid.

"I…" again she struggled to answer, her eyes darting from one tunnel to the other. She shrugged, "I'm not sure."

Hiccup gave her another concerned look before testing the air current himself. "Looks like we go right," he said, the flames of his own torch pulling harder that way.

"The tremors seem to have damaged this area too. This looks freshly fallen," noted Fishlegs as they came upon a large pile of rubble. It looked to have near filled the corridor from floor to ceiling at one point recently.

"Thank Thor someone wasn't stood under it all when it fell," Hiccup shot Astrid another irritated glance.

"Yeah," she muttered in agreement, not meeting his eyes.

None of the riders noticed a small greyed hand protruding lifeless from the freshly fallen debris as they walked by.

After a time, Astrid began to feel the weight of being watched. She couldn't help but glance back into the shadows that fell in their wake. For an instant, she thought she saw something. A mass of black, or a shocking hint of blue hovering close to the roof of the corridor.

On blinking it was gone.


End file.
